The Snowtown Murders Directed by: Justin Kurzel Starring: Louise Harris, Daniel Henshall, Lucas Pittaway Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: March 2, 2012 (limited)
TRAILER SCORE: 9/10
Thoughts by TSR: Very few movies genuinely frighten me. This isn’t something I bring up to make myself look like a big, tough guy, but rather to put into perspective how unique it is that this unsettling trailer got to me. The amazing thing is that it doesn’t even feature anything all that grisly. Even if it did, I don’t think I’d find anything as chilling as one character saying, “They’re nobody, mate. They’re nothing.” This film has been on my radar for a while now, but I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the buzz surrounding it. Now that I’ve seen some footage, The Snowtown Murders has become a must-see.
The dark, depressing tone may be a turn off for some, but for me it is another selling point. There’s really no way of telling this true story without it being bleak, and I suspect it will have more of an impact for it. The cast looks uniformly excellent, but it is Daniel Henshall (the speaker of the line mentioned above) who stands out. There is a sense of dread whenever he is onscreen, so I can’t wait to see what he does over the course of the film.
That sense of dread is really true of the trailer as a whole. These two minutes are a well-executed slow burn, and I hope that is something the film mirrors. It may be hard to watch, but if it lives up to this trailer it will be impossible to look away.